Letters and Numbers in Page Numbers

In many documents you may have a need to number your pages with a section number as a preface. For instance, you may want them numbered as A-1, A-2, A-3, etc. Exactly how you do this depends on how you have your documents set up. For instance, if each "section" is actually a different document file, then you simply need to set your page numbers this way:

1. Display the Insert tab of the ribbon.
2. Assuming you want the page number in the footer, click the Footer tool in the Header & Footer group and then click Edit Footer. Word displays the footer area of the current page and places the insertion point there. (If you want the page number in the header, simply follow this step but look for "Header" instead of "Footer" in each instance.)
3. Type the section letter followed by a dash. (For instance, A- or B-.)
4. In older versions of Word, make sure the Design tab of the ribbon is displayed. If you are using a newer version of Word, go to step 5.
5. Click the Page Number tool in the Header & Footer group. Word displays some options for your page number.
6. Click Current Position | Plain Number. Word inserts a page number for you.
7. Format your header or footer as desired.
8. Click the Close Header and Footer tool near the right side of the ribbon.

If all the sections of your manuscript are in a single document file, just make sure you have a real section break between each of your sections. You can then set up your page numbers this way:

1. Position the insertion point in the section where you want page numbers.
2. Display the Insert tab of the ribbon.
3. Assuming you want the page number in the footer, click the Footer tool in the Header & Footer group and then click Edit Footer. Word displays the footer area of the current page and places the insertion point there. (If you want the page number in the header, simply follow this step but look for "Header" instead of "Footer" in each instance.)
4. Again, display the Insert tab of the ribbon.
5. Click the Quick Parts tool (in the Text group) and then choose Field. Word displays the Field dialog box.
6. Make sure the Numbering category is selected in the Categories list. (See Figure 1.)



Figure 1. The Field dialog box.

7. Choose Section in the Field Names list.
8. In the Format list, choose the option for capital letters (A B C...).
9. Click on OK to actually add your field to the header or footer.
10. Type a dash.
11. In older versions of Word, make sure the Design tab of the ribbon is displayed. If you are using a newer version of Word, go to step 5.
12. Click the Page Number tool in the Header & Footer group. Word displays some options for your page number.
13. Click Current Position | Plain Number. Word inserts a page number for you.
14. Format your header or footer as desired.
15. Click the Close Header and Footer tool near the right side of the ribbon.

Remember that these steps work because your document is divided into sections, with one section per major division. If you use more section breaks than you have divisions—such as placing Appendix A into section 3 of your document—then you won't get the desired result. In that case, your page numbering would show C-1, C2, C3, etc. because Appendix A is in section 3. In that case, you must use the approach first described in this tip where you manually type the letters you want to appear before your page number.

Finally, this tip has to do simply with page numbers in headers or footers. If you need the letters and numbers to automatically transfer to a special table, such as a table of contents, then your task becomes more complex. You can see an example of the complexity by visiting this page:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/2d9a939c-2863-45c3-bf5e-74b32972035d

This page is for older versions of Word, but the concepts it uses are still applicable to the latest versions. There are multiple examples on the page, but you'll want to pay particular attention to example 2.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (13269) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Letters and Numbers in Page Numbers.